Sin título
1971
He was born in 1942 Cali-Colombia. He is a draftsman, painter, sculptor and teacher. He is a descendant of the hero of national independence, General Pedro Alcántara Herrán Martínez. His studies were carried out at the Antonio María Valencia Conservatory (today Fine Arts), then he went to the National Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, Italy. In 1962 he received the Gubbio prize and the Gold Medal of the Council of Ministers for Artistic Merit, Italy. Upon returning to Colombia in the sixties, he participated five times in the Salon of National Artists, being deserving in the years 1963-65, 66, 69 and 71. He participated and exhibited in different Biennials around the world such as: San Paulo, Brazil, Venice , Tokyo, Kyoto, Seoul, Baghdad, Havana, Caracas, Córdoba, San Juan, Krakow, Brno and Helsinki, obtaining awards and mentions. He also worked as a film and theater set designer, cultural manager and on several occasions participated as curator and jury national and international art exhibitions. Among which his collaboration stands out in the seventies and eighties as a member of the Advisory Board of the La Tertulia Museum during the American Biennials of Graphic Arts (1971-1986). In addition to participating in the cultural sector, he has always been interested in politics, he was called by the Patriotic Union-UP movement, being elected to the Senate of the Republic, working for this movement until 1989, work that was affected by the threats made, ending in exile first in Germany and then in Portugal. Alcántara’s first artistic stage was influenced by violence, which is reflected in the lines and viceral figuration of his representations. Years after his exile, his work addresses pre-Columbian art and tribal African art. Other mentions in 2018 he received from the Government of Valle, the award for Life and Work in Plastic Arts, the following year the Ministry of Culture awarded the National Award for Life and Work (2019). His work can be found in places such as: The Library of Congress, United States, the Collection of the Banco de la República-Luis Ángel Arango Library.